The purpose of this paper is to review and understand what the existing evidence base concludes about the needs of this population. The older prisoner population is growing faster than the older general population and placing a strain on prisons. Much of the existing literature focusses on the health-care needs of, or in-prison initiatives for, older prisoners. Typically, these are responsive and lacking an evidence-based understanding of the characteristics and needs of this group.,This paper presents a systematic review of the existing literature on the needs and characteristics of older people in contact with the criminal justice system. After a thorough search and selection process, 21 papers, from 2002 onwards, were included in the final analysis. The review process was structured through (People, Intervention/Exposure, Comparison, Outcome) and reported using (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses).,The contradictions within the existing evidence base make it difficult to reach firm conclusions about the needs and characteristics of older prisoners. What is clear from the existing research are the relatively high levels of need. There is also some consensus that where older people commit homicide, the victim is likely to be an intimate partner. Overall, there is a need for consistent recording and reporting of characteristics and demographics and more systematic study design.,This paper has highlighted the key findings and limitations in the existing literature. Future research should make use of secondary official data sources to provide a clearer understanding of the characteristics of this group, their routes to prison, their needs and challenges they present.

中文翻译：

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对年长囚犯的特征和需求的系统评价

本文的目的是回顾和理解现有证据基础关于该人群需求的结论。较年长的囚犯人口的增长速度快于较年长的普通人口，这给监狱带来了压力。现有的许多文献都集中在老年囚犯的医疗保健需求或监狱举措方面。通常，这些人反应灵敏，缺乏对该群体的特征和需求的循证理解。本文对有关与刑事司法系统联系的老年人的需求和特征的现有文献进行了系统的综述。经过全面的搜索和选择过程，从2002年开始，共有21篇论文被纳入最终分析。通过（人员，干预/暴露，比较，结果），并使用（系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目）进行报告。现有证据库中的矛盾之处使得难以就长龄囚犯的需求和特征得出确切的结论。从现有研究中可以明显看出需求的相对较高水平。也有一些共识，即老年人杀人时，受害者很可能是亲密伴侣。总的来说，需要对特征和人口统计数据进行一致的记录和报告，并且需要更系统的研究设计。本文着重强调了现有文献中的主要发现和局限性。未来的研究应利用辅助官方数据来源，以更清晰地了解该群体的特征，他们的入狱途径，